Labyrinth Forest
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: AU. A wandering marionette travels with a girl who has lost her way. A hunter who desires to kill anything, anyone, yet feels pity towards a slumbering traveler. These four characters are only few of the characters in this story.
1. Scene I

**Author note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Nor do I own the pieces by Phantom Tempus that inspired this into being, one of the pieces being called 'Labyrinth Forest,' hence the title of this fic because I couldn't think of anything better.**

**I know, I haven't written anything in the Kingdom Hearts category for what seems like FOREVER. This is because I've been working on tons of other fics in categories such as Count Cain: Godchild, Yakitate! Japan, and even doing some crossover one-shots and a multi-chapter crossover of Criminal Minds and Yakitate! Japan. But now, I FINALLY thought of something that I could do for Kingdom Hearts. Consider this to be my Christmas fic, even though it's not Christmas-ish and such, and I probably won't get this done by Christmas. **

**Warning: AU, possible implied pairings (may also include yaoi and yuri), possible violence later on...**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you guys read, review and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_Labyrinth Forest_

_Scene 1: The Girl and the Wandering Marionette_

* * *

This whole place had an atmosphere that felt so...dreamlike.

At least, that's what Namine thought to herself as she looked around with confused eyes of light blue. She didn't know how she got here, or if this place had a specific name.

She figured out the second part of her confusion as soon as she saw two words etched into a nearby boulder, vines of dark green ivy covering some of the letters.

_Labyrinth Forest. _She tried to think of why this place might be named as such, but she couldn't really think of anything except for the simple idea that it could be a labyrinth in disguise, stone walls replaced by many trees and bushes and such.

Looking around, she noticed that it must be night, because of the faint moonlight that peeked through the thicket of branches above. Thick, smoky grey fog was rolling in all around her, and she was really unsure of what to do.

Should she scream for help? Explore the place? Stay put until someone or something came along?

She was opting towards the second option.

As she was about to take even a step, a figure came into her view. He sat on a wooden chair, his arms on the arm rests with his legs crossed at the ankles. His clothing was all black; even his boots were as well. Slate-coloured bangs hung over one eye, and the other eye she could not see, for he had his head bowed slightly.

"H-hello?" She spoke up, stammering a bit as she took a few paces towards him. "Do you know how I can get out of here? I-I'm lost...I...don't know how I got he-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she realized he was looking up at her, the one cerulean eye looking straight at her. His left arm extended slightly, before making a gesture that said two words.

_Come here._

Slowly, cautiously, she took a few steps at a time towards him, until she was only one or two steps away from him. He looked up at her quietly, his head tilted to one side as if he was a mere curious child.

He spoke.

"You don't know how you got here?" His voice, melodious, seemed to echo in her ears as his pale lips formed those words. Silently she nodded in response. He paused before speaking more. "No one...ever leaves this place, even if they never meant to be here at all, even if they don't even know how they came here. There is nothing you can do about that."

Nothing she could do? That was troublesome. She looked around quietly, unsure of what to say at first. But then she spoke up again, a question forming in her mind.

"M-my name is...Namine. What is yours?"

The man paused before speaking.

"I am Ienzo. I am Zexion. I am known by both." He stood up, slowly. As Namine watched him, she couldn't help but think as if he was a marionette, pulled up by invisible strings. He gazed into her eyes gently, and soon she realized one of his hands was extended towards her. "Perhaps we could...perhaps we could explore this place together? It is only natural that I show you around."

"Um...yes. I think I'd like that." Namine spoke, nodding a bit. Hand in hand, the two walked together through the misty woods.

As they walked, she couldn't help but think something was odd about the man. He wasn't _human, _yet he appeared to feel...truly, it was as if he was a puppet. The blank, glassy eyes of cerulean only seemed to prove it even more. But for now, as emotionless or full of emotion as he seemed, he would probably be travelling with her for quite some time.


	2. Scene II

_Scene II: The Hunter and the Traveler_

A silver-haired figure, clad in black furs and fabric, stood in the midst of the corpses. Slowly, he sheathed his blade, not bothering to wipe the blood off. His dark eyes looked about quietly, as if trying to see if anyone else was nearby and alive.

Far away, he heard the soft, deep breaths of a sleeping figure.

His eyes narrowed almost into slits, and he dashed off soundlessly, searching for that prey.

He loved to kill. He's a hunter, that's what he's meant for. He is to kill, and to do nothing but that alone.

* * *

He trudged through the snow, slashing away at the branches from trees that blocked his way. He knew that the prey was around here, somewhere...

And then he saw her.

On instinct, he wanted to kill, and he quickly unsheathed his bloodied sword. But his conscience held him back, as well as the awe at the sight.

She was very, very pretty. Hair of scarlet red splayed about on the pure white snow, her pale porcelain skin slowly being covered by flurries of snowflakes that drifted from above. Her clothing attire consisted of soft, creamy colours, her feet adorned with brown mocassins. He looked closer, and noticed that there were silky white blooms scattered about her.

He'd never seen such prey as beautiful as her, as innocent looking as her, before. For some reason, he didn't want to stain her with blood like he had done to several victims before.

And he had no idea what he should do. However, he felt that he couldn't just leave her here. At this rate, she might die soon, of the cold wrapping around her.

He sheathed his sword, picked her up in his arms, and quickly started to walk back to the cave where he resided in.

* * *

As soon as he got back to the cave, he removed his cloak and lay it on the floor, before laying the maiden upon it. He then noticed the woolen blanket he had with him in the cave, and covered her with it. He then grabbed some sticks from a pile of wood that he had gathered for the uses of fire, and lit a fire using them.

As soon as the fire was blazing steadily, he sighed quietly, went into a sitting position, and leaned back against the cavern wall. He hoped that the traveler would wake soon. He prayed that she was still alive.


	3. Scene III

_Scene III: The Melodious Wayfarer of the Waters_

"Where are we going?" Namine asked the marionette. Zexion continued to stay silent as he led her through the foggy thicket. "Zexion? Can you please tell me?"

Zexion turned torwards her. "We're going to see a friend of mine. He likes the water a lot." He spoke quietly, before the two continued walking.

It wasn't long before they found themselves at a large clearing, with a lake ahead of them. A waterfall rushed from a towering height, the neverending water bubbling down into the lake below. On the land, some blooms that seemed like daffodils, but not _quite_ daffodils, grew on the verdant ground.

In the middle of the lake, however, a figure sat on a large, smooth boulder peeking out from the water below. His bare feet dangled in the water as he held a sitar close to his chest and played a gentle mellow tune, plucking the strings of the instrument quietly. His hair was a messy mullet of dirty-blond, his eyes a bluish-green, lit with delight as he continued the musical piece. A grin was on his face, which seemed to say exactly the same message as the rest of his face did; full of delight just messing about the music.

The mullet-haired figure, who looked about Namine's age or maybe a little older, finished the tune and turned towards Zexion and Namine.

"Hey there." He spoke, giving a goofy grin. "I see you're looking lively."

Zexion sighed as he walked over to the mullet-haired musician. "Demyx, we don't have hearts. We can't feel."

Demyx just let out soft pout. "Oh, we do too have hearts, don't be mad, Zexy!" He responded as he literally walked across the water and onto the grassy land, the sitar vanishing into thin air. He turned to Namine. "Hey there! The name's Demyx, Melodious Wayfarer of the Waters. Yours?" He asked, immediately extending a hand towards her.

"Um, my name is Namine." Namine responded quickly, shaking his hand and smiling, slightly nervous. "It's nice to meet you." _Don't have hearts? _Namine immediately thought back to Zexion's previous remark. _What the...I wonder what that's about..._

"Nice to meet you, too!" Demyx replied. "You're new here, aren't you?"

"That's exactly why I brought her here." Zexion replied before Namine could say a 'yes.' "I figured you could help me tell her the basics of how this world works."

"Ah. I see." Demyx tiltled his head, leaning it against his arm (propped up vertically ontop of his other arm which was horizontal) temporarily before letting out an 'ah-ha!' "That's great! I can show you to the place where I live, first, if you want!" He spoke to Namine excitedly.

Namine was confused at this statement. "I thought you lived around here."

"Oh, noo..." Demyx trailed off. "I live IN the lake! Isn't that awesome!? I can totally show you what it looks like!"

"But-but-I can't breathe underwater!" Namine responded, mortified. "I'm-I'm just a regular human being, I don't have gills to breathe with!"

"I don't need 'em to breathe underwater, actually. It's one of my natural abilities. But for you," Demyx dug about in his pants pocket before fishing out two candies covered in bluish-green wrappers. "Just eat one."

Namine picked up the treat and stared at it as Zexion picked up the other one, unwrapping it before he popped it into his mouth. She then unwrapped it, revealing the candy to be a small sphere of the same colour as the wrapper.

"It's not going to poison you or anything like that..." Demyx trailed off. "It will taste like seaweed, though, just thought I'd warn you if you don't like seaweed. And you don't have to chew on it, either, just swallow it."

"Um, thanks..." Namine hestantly put the little sphere in her mouth and swallowed. Demyx was right. It did taste like the sharp taste of seaweed exactly. "What now?"

"Just dive into the water!" The mullet-haired musician told her.

"...What?"

"C'mon, we can dive together! One, two, three!"

At 'three,' the first thing Namine realized was that she was falling into the water below, with Demyx and Zexion by her side.

* * *

She tried to hold her breath on instinct as soon as her head went underwater, but then she remembered that she could breathe underwater, due to the help of the seaweed-flavoured candy Demyx gave her moments ago. She exhaled, seeing bubbles of air float upwards, before taking another breath. She wasn't drowining. She was fine.

She looked around quietly. Pink coral stuck out from below; shells glinting in the pale brown sand. Fish of all colours, some black, some rainbow, swirled about in the water around her. This was definitely nothing like any lake she saw underwater before.

"Hey!" She turned to see Demyx, waving to her. Zexion was beside him, a small grin on his face. "Come on! Follow me!" Demyx called out before he started swimming away. Namine quickly followed, thankful that she was such a strong swimmer in the first place. Eventually she was swimming alongside the other two, and she continued to look around.

Seahorses seemed to dance as crabs scuttled about on the ocean floor. The seaweed, glowing in their many shades of green, let themselves be swayed by the small currents around them. Namine couldn't help but smile at the view around her. No wonder Demyx lived here, she thought to herself. It would definitely fit a wayfarer of the waters for sure.

It wouldn't be long before they finally reached the cave that Demyx lived in.


End file.
